title: Tomato yellow leaf curl virus in the Dominican Republic: Characterization of an Infectious Clone, Virus Monitoring in Whiteflies, and Identification of Reservoir Hosts.
abstract: ABSTRACT Epidemics of tomato yellow leaf curl disease (TYLCD) in the Dominican Republic in the early to mid-1990s resulted in catastrophic losses to processing tomato production. As part of an integrated management approach to TYLCD, the complete nucleotide sequence of a full-length infectious clone of an isolate of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) from the Dominican Republic (TYLCV-[DO]) was determined. The TYLCV-[DO] genome was nearly identical in sequence (>97%) and genome organization to TYLCV isolates from Israel and Cuba. This established that TYLCV-[DO] is a bonafide TYLCV isolate (rather than a recombinant virus, such as isolates from Israel [Mild], Portugal, Japan, and Iran), and provided further evidence for the introduction of the virus from the eastern Mediterranean. A reduction in the incidence of TYLCV in the northern and southern processing tomato production areas of the Dominican Republic has been associated with the implementation of a mandatory 3-month whitefly host-free period (including tomato, common bean, cucurbits, eggplant, and pepper). Monitoring TYLCV levels in whiteflies, by polymerase chain reaction with TYLCV-specific primers, established that the incidence of TYLCV decreased markedly during the host-free period, and then gradually increased during the tomato-growing season. In contrast, TYLCV persisted in whiteflies and tomato plants in an area in which the host-free period was not implemented. Surveys for TYLCV reservoir hosts, conducted to identify where TYLCV persists during the host-free period, revealed symptomless infections in a number of weed species. The implications of these findings for TYLCV management in the Dominican Republic are discussed.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salati
authors.forename: Medhat K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Nahkla
authors.forename: Maria R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guzman
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jaquez
authors.forename: Douglas P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Maxwell
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Gilbertson